December 2018 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 13
right direction. Our goal in CTE is to
expand each student’s options, not
limit them.”
High schools through out the
IMESD have increased CTE as a
result of increased funding from
the state. Pendleton School District
(PSD) has P-Tech, a facility dedi-
cated to CTE learning. Programs
offered include Hospitality and
Tourism, Agriculture, Visual and
Media Arts, Business Management
and Administration, and Engineer-
ing (Industrial and Engineering
Systems). Through PSD’s School to
Careers program, 90 students have
been placed in over 44 Pendleton
businesses. This collaboration with
business benefits the students and
the community, says KC Arthur,
Food Service Director at St. Antho-
ny Hospital, one of the participat-
ing businesses. “CTE benefits the
community by getting youth into
the workforce, students help with
some of the very basic tasks which
benefits the business, it gives
youth the hands-on experience of
working outside the confines of a
classroom.”
Hermiston hired three CTE
teachers this year to focus on
career skills. Like Pendleton, they
partner with local businesses to
provide real-world learning experi-
ences. Students are provided op-
portunity to engage in work such
as project-based learning, school-
based entrepreneurship, and stu-
dent leadership. Hermiston offers
CTE in Health Sciences, Consumer
and Family Sciences, Business and
Management, Agriculture, Weld-
ing, Industrial and Engineering
Systems, and Arts, Information,
and Communications.
CTE is focused on preparing
youth to further their educa-
tion and skills to ensure they are
qualified for high wage career
positions in the future. This type
of education provides youth with
the opportunity to apply classroom
learning in a business setting. Many
studies have shown that when
learning is applied to real-world
situations it enhances and reinforc-
es the learning. Relevance is im-
portant to retention of knowledge,
for instance students who struggle
with fractions can apply the math
in cooking, where fractions are very
common and necessary. By apply-
ing fractions in real life retention is
increased.
Recent studies are showing
important benefit of CTE courses
is that they have a positive impact
on dropout rates. Not all students
learn in the same way, so CTE’s
more “hands-on” learning style
appeals to students who do not
learn well from lectures or read-
ing. Whether a child wants to be a
teacher or a plumber, CTE is benefi-
cial because ultimately education
will need to be applied to the world
of work. Some students will have
to attend a university to enter their
career fields; others will gain their
education while working. Either
way it is important to expose youth
to the work place in advance.
An article by Tim Nisbett can
be found on oregonlive.com illus-
trating the benefits of vibrant CTE
programs. A Tale of Two Letters can
be found at https://bit.ly/2OX199f.
It is a short but very good read.
If you are an employer inter-
ested in providing learning expe-
riences in your business, please
email Jennifer Pambrun at Jennifer.
Pambrun@imesd.k12.or.us. She
can connect you to schools in our
area looking for student placement
opportunities.
________
Pendleton home economist Virginia
Justice and her husband have two
college-aged daughters.
Mom & Baby
Support Group
We meet every Friday 9AM -11AM
at St Anthony Hospital
in Conference Rooms 3 & 4
This support group is Free and
specifically geared toward
Moms and Caregivers.
We provide Free snacks, support,
breastfeeding help and baby weigh ins.
St. Anthony Clinic
3001 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, Oregon
www.sahpendleton.org